What drives leader integrity?

Abstract

The inspiration for this research is determined by the fact that leader integrity may have countless effects on organisations and employee performance. The research gap has focused on the antecedents of leader integrity within Iranian public services. This qualitative study used rich data from in-depth interviews and followed a Glaserian grounded theory as its research method. Results have suggested that, different factors influence leader integrity that include: individual characteristics (altruistic mindset, authenticity, organisational-based self-esteem, personal values that confer integrity, Machiavellianism), moderating factors (organisational: organisational climate regarding integrity, human resources management, whistleblower activities, organisational transparency and politicisation of bureaucracy) and moderating factors (managerial: leader job characteristics, leadership ability, expectations of leader performance, and ethical role model). We discuss a potential limitation of this study and implications for practice and directions for future research of leader integrity.